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Hypo-egoic self-regulation: exercising self-control by diminishing the influence of the self.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Leary, MR; Adams, CE; Tate, EB
Published in: Journal of personality
December 2006

Theory and research dealing with self-regulation have focused primarily on instances of self-regulation that involve high levels of self-reflection and effortful self-control. However, intentionally trying to control one's behavior sometimes reduces the likelihood of achieving one's goals. This article examines the process of hypo-egoic self-regulation in which people relinquish deliberate, conscious control over their own behavior so that they will respond more naturally, spontaneously, or automatically. An examination of spontaneously occurring hypo-egoic states (such as flow, deindividuation, and transcendence) suggests that hypo-egoic states are characterized by lowered self-awareness and/or an increase in concrete and present-focused self-thoughts. In light of this, people may intentionally foster hypo-egoism via two pathways-(a) taking steps to reduce the proportion of time that they are self-aware (such as repeating a behavior until it is automatic or practicing meditation) or (b) increasing the concreteness of their self-thoughts (such as inducing a concrete mindset or practicing mindfulness). In this way, people may deliberately choose to regulate hypo-egoically when effortful control might be detrimental to their performance.

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Published In

Journal of personality

DOI

EISSN

1467-6494

ISSN

0022-3506

Publication Date

December 2006

Volume

74

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1803 / 1831

Related Subject Headings

  • Temperament
  • Social Psychology
  • Social Control, Informal
  • Self Efficacy
  • Research Design
  • Personal Autonomy
  • Models, Psychological
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Internal-External Control
  • Identification, Psychological
 

Citation

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ICMJE
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Leary, M. R., Adams, C. E., & Tate, E. B. (2006). Hypo-egoic self-regulation: exercising self-control by diminishing the influence of the self. Journal of Personality, 74(6), 1803–1831. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00429.x
Leary, Mark R., Claire E. Adams, and Eleanor B. Tate. “Hypo-egoic self-regulation: exercising self-control by diminishing the influence of the self.Journal of Personality 74, no. 6 (December 2006): 1803–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00429.x.
Leary MR, Adams CE, Tate EB. Hypo-egoic self-regulation: exercising self-control by diminishing the influence of the self. Journal of personality. 2006 Dec;74(6):1803–31.
Leary, Mark R., et al. “Hypo-egoic self-regulation: exercising self-control by diminishing the influence of the self.Journal of Personality, vol. 74, no. 6, Dec. 2006, pp. 1803–31. Epmc, doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00429.x.
Leary MR, Adams CE, Tate EB. Hypo-egoic self-regulation: exercising self-control by diminishing the influence of the self. Journal of personality. 2006 Dec;74(6):1803–1831.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of personality

DOI

EISSN

1467-6494

ISSN

0022-3506

Publication Date

December 2006

Volume

74

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1803 / 1831

Related Subject Headings

  • Temperament
  • Social Psychology
  • Social Control, Informal
  • Self Efficacy
  • Research Design
  • Personal Autonomy
  • Models, Psychological
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Internal-External Control
  • Identification, Psychological